In the winter months it is so hard to not get stir crazy. I'm really trying to do more projects in the winter and fun games. We worked on these fun marble hearts with paint.
You put marbles in paint and then you roll them around in a box.
Penny had fun coloring as she waited for her turn. 
We did red and white paint.
Ellie sticking out her tongue!
Anderson also wanted to get in on the action!
Our finished products!
First, I want to start with, the garage is my husband's place/responsibility. Meaning, I take care of the inside of the house and I feel the garage is his domain. So, with that said, I'm a little embarrassed by the organization of the garage, but with 3 kids they almost take over the garage with their things. 
He got the car in the garage in a very interesting way. I give him a 10 for creativity. Avi and Anderson each have their own Escalade. Chevy put Avi's pink Escalade in the trunk of his car and then he put Anderson's Escalde on top of the hood of his car with a mattress underneath. 
Here is Avi's car in the trunk of his car. Thanks Ryan for solving this problem! 
Yes, it finally SNOWED!!!!! Okay, it is January 11th here in Illinois and this is our first really big snowfall of the year!!!! They say we should get up to 6-8 inches. We will see in the morning.
Ellie, enjoying the snow.
They played in the snow at school and then as soon as we got home they wanted to go back outside. I, of coarse, stayed inside to prepare the hot chocolate!
Last year we found out that our daughter, Ellie has Cold Urticaria (essentially meaning "cold hives") an allergy where hives or large red welts form on the skin after exposure to the cold. I know strange! Last spring, I went outside with her and as we came inside I noticed that anything that was exposed to the outside started to get hives and welts on her skin. We went to an allergist and she called it "Cold Urticaria". She told us we can give her allergy medicine, but that hasn't helped. 
Two days after Christmas we headed to Michigan to spend time with the Chevrier family. Ryan needed to work that day, and we needed to take two cars to get there. I decided to leave earlier with the kids, because I did not want to drive late at night. It takes around 6 hours to get there. I got the car all packed up and I fed the kids lunch. I had all the kids go potty and limited their drinks. The car was completely filled up and I hit the road. The kids did amazing! There really was not a lot of traffic and then they each fell asleep for a nap. I think they were tired from Christmas. I didn't need to stop to get gas and it started to snow as we got closer to Michigan. We drove the whole way without stopping! That was a miracle!
Here they are in their matching snowman pajamas!
Avielle and Ellie received "Butterflies Dolls." I love that the dolls look just like them.
Ellie with her first redhead doll!
Avi with her blondie!
Nana wanted games to play with the children.
Avi and Nana making banana bread.
Avi and daddy putting together Anderson's Star Wars Lego set. I know, where is Anderson??? Yes, he is playing his DS.
Ellie just loves playing the computer. Nana made her a smoothie and put it in a coffee cup. She was definitely in her glory!
We also got out the old Nintendo!!!!! We played a lot of Super Mario Brothers! That is definitely my favorite!!!! I just kept beating Ryan at it and he got really jealous!
Grandpa, Nana, Avielle (5), Anderson (5), and Ellie (3)
This year we had Christmas day at my parent's house in Illinois. My dad just LOVES breakfast, we definitely have that in common! So each Christmas he makes us a yummy spread of pancakes, meat, and eggs.
Of coarse when ever you come to my parent's house you will find cake and for breakfast we had some yummy coffee cakes from the Old World Bakery!
After breakfast my mom went to vacuum the floor and look who decided to hop on? My nephew Kaeden just loves riding on the vacuums. You would think he would be afraid of the loud noise, but he isn't?
Okay her are all the grandkiddos! My cousin Ryan and his wife Inga came in from North Carolina for Christmas. They were able to join us for Christmas morning. Their daughter Lucy is the 1 year old blondie!
My dad pulled out Santa hats for the next picture!
Wasn't a big hit with the kids.
Aunt Jenny with Penelope.
Here is our newest addition, Jonathan. He is such a little miracle, born way too early! He is doing great and is an excellent little baby. I think I have only heard him cry once!
After we opened all the presents. The extended family all came over. This year we decided to be way different, and instead of having a Christmas dinner we had appetizers. It was nice not to have a bunch of dishes, but I think I ate more food than I would at a meal. We kind of all grazed the whole evening. 
We didn't see the older kids much as they were playing their 3DS's all evening. Anderson got one from my parents and he is really addicted to it! 
It turned out that the kiddos had 3 Christmas mornings! I know SPOILED! Chevy and I had Christmas morning with the kids Christmas Eve. We told them that Santa came early and we celebrated with our little family.
Here they are opening their stockings.
Then over to the presents. This year we got them a tablet to share. They just love our Ipad, so we decided maybe we could get them a group gift and the games for the tablets are only around $2.00. We also got them a gift cards to Build A Bear. Which after we got dressed that day we went to Build A Bear and they got to make their own bears. Ellie and Anderson hadn't been there before and it was a fun family activity to do together!
Each of the kids got each other a present. Anderson REALLY, REALLY, REALLY, wanted a harmonica. Avielle got the harmonica for him and he gave her a hug! SWEET!!! :) Chevy went and got us all a hot breakfast and then we headed off to Build A Bear. After that we hurried home and got the pot roast in the oven for our dinner. We went to Christmas Eve service with my parents and then we had family over to our house to enjoy the pot roast. 
I LOVE the theater! I grew up learning songs from Broadway. When others my age were listening to Backstreet Boys, I was singing Phantom of the Opera. So, I want to instill that love of music and acting for my kids. Last year we went to The Wizard of Oz at the Mariott and this year we went to the Seussical. We have been going with my parents and extended family the last two years. 
Walking into the performance
Cousin Georgia and Avielle in their seats.
Daddy was also able to come! The kids absolutely loved the Seussical! It kept all their attentions for the whole hour. My girls favorite character was the little girl named Jo-jo. Anderson really liked the cool monkeys. My sisters even brought their 18 month olds and they loved it! 
After the performance my mom had us all over to decorate cookies. My sister Jenny made all the cookies the day before.
Georgia and Emma.
Kaeden
Ellie in her sweet apron.
Uncle Jay, Penny, and Aunt Jenny
My dad helping Ellie! Love the tongue!
Here is our finished work! Such a fun day with the family!!!!!
